The present invention relates generally to the furniture industry and in particular, tacking strips used as a fastener for materials covering furniture such as upholstery. In greater particularity, the invention pertains to sleeves covering tacking strips to protect fastened upholstery from damage during installation and thereafter.
Tacks have been used in the furniture and upholstery industries for centuries. Tacks come in a variety of sizes and structures, and are easily recognizable by their broad head and four (4) side-faceted or pyramid-shaped body, typically of short length. Tacks have been used in the furniture industry to primarily fasten loose covering materials such as upholstery to a wooden frame of a particular furniture shape. In more modern times, tacks are fastened through material onto a furniture frame using pneumatically powered hammers.
However, in even more recent times, strips of tacks formed continuous rolls have been manufactured to reduce the cost of tacking materials, as well as facilitate the application of tacks in affixing upholstery onto a wooden furniture structure. Referred to in the industry as xe2x80x9ctacking strips,xe2x80x9d they are made from a thin strip of coil rolled galvanized steel punched at regularly spaced intervals, orthogonally to the plane of the aluminum strip, to create triangularly shaped protrusions. Typically, after punching, the strip exhibits centrally located sharp protrusions. The protrusions serve well as individual tack substitutes and provide better relative support due to the continuous steel strip base. The protrusions, which function as tacks are then swaged to impart serrated side edges and to strengthen each tack so that they will not bend on impact to wood. Tacking strips are quite useful in providing continuous lateral support to retain fabric in place on a furniture structure and are more easily installed during the furniture manufacturing process, at a lower cost.
However, while well received over the last few decades, tacking strips have more recently experienced a draw-back. Upholstery materials have increasingly become more valuable as a percentage of the overall cost of manufacturing and furniture materials. Further, fine leathers have increasingly become favorable as upholstery materials which are more expensive. A continuous tacking strip such as is currently used in furniture operations may in some instances damage the material to be adhered to the wooden furniture frame. In particular, tacking strips typically have a fairly sharp edge and when applied onto materials being stretched over a particular furniture structure, such as support foam cushioning, the upholstery materials may be inadvertently cut or a loosened due to sheering forces experienced against the edge of the tacking strip. Also, tacking strips may exhibit sharp burrs or imperfections along their base which could again damage fabric, or even injure workers.
In an effort to correct this phenomenon, the upholstery industry has attempted to apply various types of sleeves onto the tacking strip so that sharp edges, aside from the tack protrusion on the strip, do not damage the underlying expensive upholstery materials. Sleeves of varying shapes and sizes have been applied to tacking strips with varying results. A currently popular form of sleeve covers the underlying surface of the tacking strip up to the base of each protruding tack and covers around the entire superior surface of the tacking strip itself. However, this form of sleeve also slides freely over the tacking strip and may, in some instances, slide off the strip during the upholstery installation process. Detachment of the sleeve from the tacking strip can cause delays in furniture assembly and increase the difficulty of installing upholstery materials onto wooden furniture structures. Therefore, what is needed is an improved form of sleeve that easily slides over a tacking strip to protect the upholstery material to be installed while maintaining its position along the tacking strip after application thereto.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a sleeve that will cover a tacking strip in such a way that when the tacking strip is applied to furniture covering materials such as upholstery, the materials are protected from damage by the tacking strip.
Another object is to provide a protective sleeve that may be installed around a tacking strip with a minimum of effort.
A further object is to provide a tacking strip sleeve that may be installed around a tacking strip so that the sleeve will not laterally displace once installed on the tacking strip.
In summary, an improved tacking strip sleeve is presented that slides along the entire longitudinal length of a tacking strip and covers and encompasses the entire strip with the exception of a central corridor from which the tacks on the tacking strip extend. The sleeve slides over the strip and includes a graduated flexible flange on either side of the central corridor so that as the sleeve is installed around the tacking strip by lateral displacement the graduated flange is deformed slightly as it comes in contact with each tack along the central corridor. Due to the graduated thickness of the central corridor flange, resistance is minimized as the sleeve is installed onto the tacking strip, but yet sufficient to prevent further lateral displacement once the sleeve is installed over the tacking strip.
Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description as well as a study of the appended drawings.